


An Exercise In Co-Experience

by Hitsugi_Zirkus



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Anal Fingering, M/M, Masturbation, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Semi-Public Sex, Sharing a Body
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 19:43:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7814635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hitsugi_Zirkus/pseuds/Hitsugi_Zirkus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This probably wasn't what armatization or water artes were for, but it was an inappropriate-use-of-powers kind of night. All in the same of Sorey and Mikleo being closer, of course.</p><p>[Stand-alone sequel to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/6880378">An Exercise In Proximity</a>]</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Exercise In Co-Experience

**Author's Note:**

> It's been three months since I published my first soymilk armatization fic and said I would probably write a sexy sequel. Well, better late than never, right? Haha..h,aha.a.... I honestly don't have much to say for myself here except that armatization is a very beautiful thing that leaves room for interesting sexy times.

Armatization was strange for Mikleo lately.

And it really shouldn’t. Armatizing with Sorey, having Sorey call his name, making their hearts one -- it all felt like something so  _ natural _ . There was a lifetime of Mikleo and Sorey being by each other’s sides, and so the exercise in proximity was just another barrier less between the two of them. Mikleo was happy to share a body with Sorey and lend him his seraphic power. 

And even if Mikleo sometimes felt inadequate compared to the rest of the older, more experienced seraphim in their party, he could never forget the twilight in which Sorey had smiled, sparkling drops of water falling from their long bangs when he called Mikleo and his artes incredible. For Sorey’s sake as well as his own to not be left behind, Mikleo trained hard along their journey thanks to those motivational words.

But something else happened that evening, something Mikleo couldn’t forget, and neither could Sorey. The delicate, yet electric feeling that had flooded their body, coupled with a realization. 

Armatization meant no barriers existed between them. Their thoughts and hearts could be read plainly. It didn’t come in words so much as a feeling -- something warm and pure like sunlight, refreshing like water, cascading between them. 

It had been in the middle of a normal encounter with hellions. They were running out of gels so Sorey and Mikleo, and Rose and Dezel, had armatized in order to resolve the sticky situation quickly. 

And then it slipped out, so naturally it was as if the feeling was always blossomed like an open lotus flower floating on top of the water’s surface:  _ Love _ .  Just like the air Mikleo breathed, the everyday banter and exchanged glances with Sorey, like armatization itself -- it was natural. 

Later on in the inn, Mikleo would even bump his hip against Sorey and say, “I told you that there was no getting rid of me.” 

“Pfft. You’re right. As  _ always _ .”

“About time you realized it.”

That had been that. Until armatization came into play and their thoughts came in great waves, ripples overlapping, unable to tell who thought what first.

It would trickle out within them:  _ To be apart or together?  _

_ I want to turn and see you by my side. I want to feel you everywhere. It rushes -- like a high-speed current -- just you. My heartbeat is yours -- I want to look into your eyes…  _

_ Being together like this -- with you, is... _

* * *

_ _

“Strictly speaking,” Mikleo said late one night, the two of them sitting outside an inn, under the clouds and stars, “we shouldn’t have those kinds of thoughts in the middle of battle.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Sorey rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t  _ actively  _ think about that kind of stuff, but sometimes -- and it’s just with you -- I just feel myself overflow, if that makes sense?”

“No, I get it. I feel the same. I guess with a bond like ours, armatization gets a little messier.”

Sorey’s expression turned worried. “You make it sound like a bad thing that we have this bond.”

“It's not. I don't want to believe that either. But if we're occupied like that during battle, then...” Mikleo lacked any serious bite to his statement, but he was still concerned himself. In the first place, it wasn’t as if armatization was any danger to them -- that was, they could still separate their egos while in one body and not fall into any trap of permanently melding themselves together even as they celebrated their closeness.

Still… There was no denying there was some kind of longing for “something else” while they armatized, and neither of them could figure out if they could have that while together or apart. Until they figured it out, they risked distraction, or worse, inability to retain their form, during battle. The last thing Mikleo wanted was to be a hindrance to Sorey, especially because of his feelings.

“We just have to figure out how to solve this and it’ll be fine. Do you have any ideas, Sorey? --Sorey?” 

Warmth pooled on Mikleo’s lap where Sorey laid his head down there. With his Shepherd’s cloak draped over him, he looked like an infant curling up for a nap. With his hands unable to go anywhere else, Mikleo settled for running his fingers through Sorey’s hair. 

“Hey, are you listening to anything I’m saying?”

“I’m listening, I’m listening. I was thinking up a solution right now.” Sorey adjusted himself so that he was looking up at Mikleo. Then he mirrored Mikleo’s gesture and wove his own fingers into the silver hair behind his head, ruffling it. Far from his serious words, Sorey looked completely carefree and content. He met Mikleo’s eyes affectionately, his smile as soft as the starlight. With his hold on Mikleo’s hair, he pressed to bring them closer, until their lips met.

Ah yes. These days, they had started to indulge in these physical intimacies. The two of them were already physical with how often Sorey hugged him and tickled him and held his hand and snuggled beside him at night. Kisses were a new addition to how Sorey touched him, but Mikleo deeply enjoyed them, enough to steal a few before bed each night. He could always feel Sorey’s smiles in them. 

“Mmn, Sorey -- Rose and Dezel are right over there talking on the porch,” Mikleo whispered against Sorey’s lips. 

“It’s not like they can see us,  _ Shyleo _ .” 

That earned Sorey a smack upside his head. “That’s not the problem. Rose is an assassin. Dezel too, and he’s blind on top of it; even if they can’t see us, they would probably be able to hear us.”

Clarity filled Sorey’s eyes and he sat up. “So what you’re saying is if we got out of earshot…”

“It’s not like I know what you’re planning to do.” Mikleo blushed, but he shifted around like he would get up, ready to follow Sorey through anything. 

“Well, it just so happens, I know  _ exactly  _ how to let you read my mind.” Sorey grinned, taking Mikleo by the hand and lifting them to their feet.  If either Rose or Dezel noticed the two of them slip away, they said nothing about it. 

Well. This was quite the detour they were taking. Literally. They should be figuring out what to do to make their armatization more stable, but it looked like, once again, they were being swept up in the moment. They might’ve had their whole lives growing up together, but none of that time was spent recognizing their affections in a more intimate manner beyond hugs. It was unfortunate coincidence that they were finally making up for that right in the middle of a world-saving journey, when their time was eaten up by being around others, fighting malevolence, and traveling. 

That said, stolen moments like this were few and far between. That was probably what made them all the more sweet.

They made it to a small clearing of soft grass sheltered from view by the river on one side and by a few trees the other sides. Sorey gently pressed Mikleo against one of the trees, claiming his lips again. 

Sorey was big and soft and  _ warm _ , and Mikleo responded immediately to all of him, pressing into the kiss, running his hands up Sorey’s shoulders and into the thick softness of his messy hair. Like this, away from everything, just the two of them, it was easy for Mikleo to be swept away. 

“I didn’t bring us out here because I wasn’t listening to you earlier,” Sorey said, running a thumb across Mikleo’s bottom lip. “I actually, um, have an idea. Want to walk through it?” 

Mikleo thought he might have a faint idea, if it involved Sorey’s gentle caresses and heated kisses, touches seeking out to fill a certain need. It certainly wasn’t one of Sorey’s typical romantic gestures with moonlit walks and sweet words, even if it was a pretty setting they stood in.  _ Like we’re the cover of some trashy romance novel _ . And if Sorey’s hands falling down to massage his slender hips said anything, Mikleo had all he needed to guess what Sorey was up to. He shifted in Sorey’s hands, trying not to get distracted how perfectly his palms cupped him.

“What is it?” 

Sorey brought his face near again, close enough his nose brushed against his cheek. “I’d have to say your name.” One of his hands threaded with Mikleo’s as he said it, palms pressing together -- trying to melt into one. 

Heat washed up Mikleo’s body. “Sorey-- But we -- we haven’t done that, that’s…” Not what armatization was for? An irresponsible use of Sorey’s power? Even rational Mikleo could hardly be convinced of that. More honestly, what Sorey was proposing sounded exhilarating. Exciting. A tempting vial of refreshing elixir. 

The contradiction between his words and expression must’ve shown. Sorey looked hopeful, but he squeezed Mikleo’s hand. “We’ve already done it in our own bodies, right? So we know what it’s like. We don't have to do anything you don't want to, but maybe if we did it in the armatus…”

Sex was an intimate act of “two bodies becoming one”. Sorey and Mikleo could literally share a body. The haze of being one body or two, feeling each other internally or externally, those were muddled thoughts in sex too, wasn’t it? Was that what they had been wanting? They wanted to be as close as possible, and they already achieved that one way. Perhaps if they just fulfilled this craving while armatized…

Sentiments aside too -- it sounded really _arousing_.  Mikleo’s exhale was shaky and high-pitched, a contrast to his low voice. “It’s worth a shot.” 

Sorey leaned forward to meet his averting gaze. “Yeah?”

Mikleo nodded, and without delay, cupped Sorey’s face to kiss him. His hips rolled forward, meeting Sorey’s in soft undulation. Sorey made a surprised sound in his throat, but otherwise met Mikleo’s movements with equal vigor. Together their lips parted and sucked softly, making Mikleo shiver. The weakening of his knees already had him leaning heavily on the tree’s trunk, but still he kept Sorey close, even closer, breathing chest to chest, grinding hip to hip. 

“Sorey…”

Sorey made an affirmative sound, embracing Mikleo when he murmured, “ _ Luzrov Rulay _ ,” against his ear.

The resulting gasp from that sweet timbre of his name being spoken didn’t escape against Sorey’s hair, but out of  _ their  _ lips, out into the night air. It was familiar now, melting into Sorey then filling back out again inside him, in their veins and around their bones. 

Their lips continued to tingle with the phantom sensations of their kiss, their hips in tight coils of pressure from rolling against the other, a clear tent in the middle of their tight-fitting pants. Adrenaline and exhilaration were things they were used to feeling in the rush of battle, but arousal was new, a flame more hot pooling below their stomach, more dizzying thoughts dancing seductively in their head. 

It was Mikleo’s embarrassment that heated their face and prompted their arms to come up to their chest, one of their hands running over the length of the collarbone over their clothes. 

“Shy again? That’s not like you when we get like this,” Sorey said, rolling their shoulders. 

_ We’re out in the open _ , Mikleo protested, ignoring the fact that if anyone did come to this secluded area, all they would see was Sorey. But  _ exposed  _ did sound like the right direction of his embarrassment. Like this, Sorey could feel everything he felt and know everything he thought when they were intimate, about how much he  _ wanted _ . 

_ Hurry, come on and touch me, touch  _ us. The raw need shuddered down their spine, exhaling from their lips.

Sorey wasted no time. The anticipation and arousal was already twice as much in one body, heating their skin, sticking it to the fluid silk of their clothing. Sorey sat them comfortably down against the tree, cradled by the roots when he spread their thighs, heels digging in the grass. They knew their own bodies well enough but it felt like they were exploring new territory all over like this -- would the same places feel good? Would they be twice as responsive? Maybe that was just Sorey’s sensitivity talking. 

Their hands were impatient, fingers twitching from their indecisive and heated thoughts, not knowing where to go. Finally they roamed over their chest, the silk rubbing sensually over their sensitive skin and hardening nipples, small shocks of excitement teasing down their veins. They pinched experimentally at their nipples over their clothes, images of how Mikleo squirmed and gasped under the treatment playing at the back of their mind. On cue, the bloom of pleasure prompted their hips to rock minutely by Mikleo, and his gasp escaped their lips. 

_ So that’s what it feels like for you. It’s good _ . Sorey pressed and pinched, playing with their nipples. The indulgent ministrations were his own just as much as Mikleo’s.

_ Nnh, yeah -- that feels good. But Sorey too _ ...

Half in revenge, half in pure curiosity, Mikleo skirted their fingertips further up, brushing their neck and jawline before touching the ocean-blue feathers clipped to their ears, lightly pinching at their earlobe with their nails in imitation of teeth teasing it in the way he knew Sorey liked. Their head tilted, a hot sigh escaping them, and Mikleo felt the impatience that must’ve been the result of such typical ministrations for Sorey, the fumbling hands, the long, low groan. 

Their hands tugged at straps and fastenings, trying to alleviate the swell of their starving lungs and restriction between their legs, begging urgently for attention. Sorey shook his head and hissed at the lack of progress. 

“Complicated clothes...!”

_ Impatient.  _

"Pot calling the kettle black." With Mikleo's steady hands, they reached through the growing haze and slipped off belt and coat and pants, the delicate material of their clothing falling from their limbs like water rolling off their skin. And then they were naked and bare, flushed and quivering. As if the removal of their clothes was the opening of a gate, their need rekindled, Mikleo causing their hands to shake again and skate desperately over the smooth planes of their chest and ribs, torso and hips. 

_ More -- now, please touch more -- it’s so new, it feels good -- want more _ now…!

“I didn’t know you were this needy before,” Sorey laughed breathlessly.

_ Did I ever give indication that I don’t want it? _ Images flooded their mind again, of Sorey touching him in ways that drove him crazy, and simultaneously his own face tinged dark pink, want glistening his eyes when Sorey pushed inside him.

Their throat tightened and Sorey rasped, “Yeah -- you’re right.”

_ Always _ . But neither of them were occupied with Mikleo earning another tally on the being right front. Their gaze fell down to the length of their cock, twitching slightly and half-hard, laying against their navel.

Sorey moved them down on the soft grass, taking care that they were comfortable as Mikleo reached down, rubbing the inside of their spread thighs, feeling the muscle there, the desperate want for attention in between them. And then their hand was grasping their cock, the first squeeze sending a chorus of appraisal from both of them inside their head. The strokes came slow and experimental, rubbing spots they both liked until their breaths were leaving in hot pants. The length and weight of themselves on their palm, pulsing and getting harder with each stroke. Add that to how Mikleo could feel every flood and shock of Sorey’s pleasure, and soon they were dripping.

“Mmn… Hey, Mikleo, the water -- make it…” The incomplete slur of Sorey’s words made more sense when Mikleo heard his thoughts, and he gave a breathless sound of affirmation. 

They’d done it a few times before, considering Mikleo had to make their custom lubricant in secret and that was never very often. It wasn’t ideal, but it made things slick enough -- water artes were convenient that way and Mikleo used it to slick up their palm, letting their strokes speed up, wet sounds accompanying their small moans, now growing louder. Sorey squeezed their head, Mikleo thumbed over their tip, smearing the liquid dribbling out there. 

_ Ahh, yeah Mikleo, that feels good, really good _ , came Sorey’s thoughts, sounding like he was moaning right against Mikleo’s ear. It was hard to keep control when they were unraveling themselves, and like oscillating waves they took dominance over their body -- Mikleo biting their bottom lip then Sorey parting their mouth to groan deep in their throat, Sorey arching their back and Mikleo moving their hips up and down into their fist around their cock. It was surreal yet so natural, pleasuring themselves as if they were pleasuring one another, responding together yet differently, able to feel  _ everything _ .

And like every other time when they touched each other in two bodies, there came that rising need for  _ more _ . Almost simultaneously came the thought then action of their hand reaching down between their legs. They spread their thighs, raising their legs up to their heaving chest, still stroking themselves, dripping on their stomach. 

Carefully, their fingertips, coated wet with water artes again, rubbed over their entrance.  _ We don’t have to go slow -- want it now -- no, we have to -- teasing is part of the fun, right -- please now, please please -- it’ll feel good -- touching us, I feel everything you do _ \--

With a heated push from Mikleo, they pressed their middle finger inside. The muscles of their hole immediately tightened around the intrusion. Impatiently, they tried to slip in another --  _ this isn’t a good position -- nngh, hold on, I’ll move _ \-- and then Sorey turned them to their side, their cheek tickled by the grass and their long hair. The smell of the soil and water and their own scent mixed, as effective as any sweet incense in loosening their muscles and arch their body. 

A hand still held their cock, and Sorey thumbed over the head again as Mikleo pressed two fingers inside them, probing as deep as they could, swirling them around their tight hole. Their cock jerked at the sensation, the memories of them penetrating the other, now the weird duality of stroking and being penetrated by the other, by themselves. 

_ Haven’t done this yet, but -- got an idea -- oh god, do it please that sounds  _ amazing _ \-- yeah, okay but relax -- you’re the one always tense-- _

Their breath hitched, Sorey groaning Mikleo’s name. Water artes swirled around their fingers again, trying to expand its form around them, gradually parting their hole wider. Their muscles contracted in protest, making the water lose its form and dribble out down their ass and thigh. 

“Ugh, come on, relax,” Mikleo muttered, in control now. “We’ll go slowly…” He turned them again, on their knees, hair over their shoulder, ass in the air. The fingers in their ass made lewd squelching sounds as they attempted to loosen up again, and then the water pushed them open once more. Little by little, the shape getting wider and longer into something phallic in form. Stray drops dripped down the backs of their thighs, wet and cool, a refreshing feeling from their heat. 

The water was far from anything solid and alive, but the pressure was enough, and with enough effort and time adjusting, Mikleo closed their eyes and the feel was just as good as anything like a cock. It squirmed inside them, long and wet and probing like searching fingers. Sorey wriggled their hips back --  _ so impatient -- feels  _ amazing  _ though _ \-- urging for something more, following their body’s prompt for movement. The water followed the thrust and push of their fingers, sliding inside them, in and out, the pressure making it  _ just  _ enough to emulate the sensation of their sweet spots being rubbed against. 

“S-Sore-- Mik--ahh-- Th-that’s  _ good _ , Sorey--” Their names came out in a jumble from their mouth until nothing but incoherent, broken moans filled the clearing, following the trickle of the river, igniting their body in hot waves, their long hair sticking everywhere on their sweat-slick body. 

Like this, it was easy to those themselves, their egos, in the haze of pleasure, spread wide, and their hand pumping their flushed and hard cock with renewed vigor, muscles tiring and singing, their heartbeat in their ears --  _ your heart, my heart, beating as one, as the same heart, your pleasure is mine, I want more of us, more, it’s so good, god don’t stop _ \-- there was no gap in their voices, just a chorus over and over of affirmations and love and names. 

“M-Mikleo, we’re…” Sorey arched and quivered on the grass, groaning low. “We’re gonna--”

Mikleo squeezed the base of their cock, alternating between that and stroking their balls, halting their orgasm. There was the protest of Sorey moving their hips back and forth into the ministrations of their cock and pressing back on the squirming intrusion of water inside them. But the intense pressure brought a weird sense of pleasure in itself, their climax denied, but not tapered off in the slightest.

“Ah, wait, wait,” breathed Mikleo, moving the tentacle of water faster, deeper, forcing them open wider. The tension, the arousal, filling their head  with buzzes of soft light. Sorey nearly whimpered his name, begging, sounding tortured, but oh, it was the _sweetest_ torture, electrifying their body.

_Now, Mikleo please -- I'm going crazy -- so good, so good -- yes there -- so deep -- we're_ \--

Cum spurted out of their cock, the water inside them finally losing form and leaking out of their hole messily, gushing down their thighs, adding to the mess of their cum splattering their stomach. Neither could say who let out that final cry, making them flop onto the grass, panting.

At the burst of climax, their form destablized, and then the armatus broke, leaving them piled messily in a tangle of limbs, both naked with their clothes in a heap around them. They automatically reached for the other and embraced. Sorey kissed tiredly along Mikleo's jawline as Mikleo pet through his hair.

“Wow,” was all Sorey said, and Mikleo could tell he was grinning. "That was -- new. A lot of it."

"Yeah."

"No really, I never would've thought to use your artes like _that_. How long have you been thinking about it?"

Groaning, Mikleo said, "I'm not about to tell you that."

Sorey laughed in his throat. "I'm curious about other ideas you have, that's for sure."

That earned him a smack.  “Speaking of ideas, I can’t tell if you were really onto something with all this or if you just wanted to seduce us,” Mikleo remarked, watching how his huff of air tossed the feathers clipped to Sorey’s ear. 

Sorey made a thoughtful sound, hugging Mikleo tighter, running his hand down the smooth plane of his back. “I guess we won’t know until the next time we armatize in battle. But -- I think this is definitely what we needed.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Hmm? You felt it too, Mikleo,” Sorey accused, but his tone was light, cheerful. Fulfilled. He pressed their foreheads together, nuzzling their noses together. “We just always want more things to share together. The good news is that we don’t always need one body to do it though.” 

“True. That was… I really enjoyed it. We should -- maybe another time we can -- I mean, there’s a lot we could still explore in that form…” He flushed under Sorey’s teasing stare, but he couldn’t help but smile. “Us being like this is best though.”

Sorey hummed happily, so close his lips rubbed softly over Mikleo's. “I agree.”

After all, Mikleo would miss being able to feel Sorey’s smile in their kisses if they stayed in one body. Some things could only be shared when it was the two of them, holding hands, meeting each other’s eyes -- hearts still somehow able to beat with the same rhythm.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorey then has to walk back to the inn pretending like his thighs and entrance aren't still slick with water, RIP. I know water doesn't...*cough* work like that but I'm hiding my logic with the ~power of magics~. Inappropriate use of power galore, this fic was so self-indulgent hahah,,aah... Anyway I miss these guys, and the anime is just feeding my needs (I'M SO READY FOR NEXT EP I THINK IT'S SORMIK BREAK-UP/MAKE-UP SCENES NEXT AAAAAAAA). I hope to write more soymilk soon. Maybe I'll do the sormik week prompts late, we'll see.
> 
> Please think of water tentacles + sormik and think of me.
> 
> Twitter, @fuwajellyfish  
> Tumblr, clears-jellyfish-dress


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